Truth of the Wooden Marigold
by KenyaCalico7743
Summary: After a strong past memory haunts Jack's mind like a plague, he and his fellow guardians are taken to a world they never thought possible. Can the guardians find their way back, and what does this have to do with the protectors of nature? Read to find out! Pictures on Profile page, check them out!
1. Chapter 1

**I did the calculations from our current time period (2012) and got the date 1694 when Jack died. I wanted to make him younger for the first part so he's 4 years old in the first half. Honestly, I think the dates suit well as not many establishments were made during that time. This is my first Jack Frost fanfic and I will be having a little surprise for all you readers with this story so hopefully you all like it. This took about 3 weeks to do since it was drug for so long in working with flow and whatnot, but now, I just hope that everything makes sense. So now I say enjoy and have a happy new year everyone!**

Prologue: The Memory

Year 1680, Village of the north wood (before it was named Burgess)

Nature surrounded the village with life in the form of animals and greens everywhere one looked. Trees filled the forest full of protection and strength. Within this forest, laid a village, old but new, empty but full, quiet but alive. On the outside of the town, a large barn lays dormant filled with sheep and goats baying and bawling up a storm as the evening sun started to set on the mountains around them.

From the inside of the barn, a man appears carrying a young lamb in one arm and a shepherds crook with his other hand. His longish brown hair was tied in a small ponytail wrapped with a blood red thin ribbon as two thick strands shape his upper face ending at the bottom of his ruddy brown eyes. A man with a youthful face, like the age of 23 almost, with clear rosy skin, which matched well with his dirty white tavern shirt, black leather vest, dark brown wrapped pants and black leather boots.

Not far behind him was a little 4 year old boy carrying a bucket of fresh goats milk. His short brown spikey-like hair and ruddy brown eyes sparkled brighter than his white, pantless tunic as the two made their way to the house they called home.

It was a two story log cabin with a shed on the side of the building where dogs were barking and chickens were clucking, for this family was a farm family. Out from the front cabin door appeared a woman with short brown hair in a long green dress lined with brown designs on the edges of her dress and waist area. She was carrying a basket of bread from the local bakery, where which she worked.

"Hey Hilary! Back from work love?" asked the tall man, smiling at his wife's lively green eyes as she turned in surprise to her husband and son.

She smiled sweetly at her spouse and spoke, "Yes, I am Devon. You know me, we Hanson's are hard workers. Have to live up to the family name after all" she replied as she bent down to see her son, "Working hard for Daddy there Jack?" she asked.

The little boy nodded his head rapidly and smiled wide showing his nice white baby teeth. He then looked up at his father, who apparently was looking toward the woods with a puzzled look. The little boy followed his father's gaze to see a strange site.

From the woods, came a family on a cart with two horses. These horses, however, had very large antlers set upon their heads and had brown heads with lighter furred bodies. They were not like animals that one would see in the village little Jack lived in. Behind the strange animals is a large wagon covered in a cloth of white with a sturdy man with unkempt short curly ginger hair and light blue eyes holding the reins of the animals. Beside him was a woman who appeared to be of Spanish descent with her small elongated face, homecoming smile, lively emerald eyes and thick curly black hair. The cart came to a stop just beside the young family and the man smiled down with his ginger short mustache.

"Good day folks, pardon for us coming by on your land, but I was wondering if you could help us with something?" asked the man.

"What do you need good sir on this fine evening?" asked Devon, being cheerful and welcoming. Jack put the bucket down and hid behind his father's leg.

"Well, we were just hopping to spend one night here so we can move to our new home by morning? We have food and goods to share and trade and we have some money, but not much. I'm not sure how we can pay for the stay but we'd be happy to pay somehow" suggested the man.

Devon looked warily at the man and his wife, "You were supposed to be here earlier but didn't get here because…?"

"Our children were exploring the wilderness and had trouble getting back to us" explained the man. Devon then gave an 'ahh' look and nodded.

"Well, I don't see a problem since it's one night. Hilary?" asked Devon as he turned to his wife.

"I don't see a problem either, but I do wish I had cleaned a little better than what it is now. I hope you don't mind?" she asked slightly guilty/nervous.

The man just laughed and shook his head, "Not at all. We won't mind it a bit. Oh! My name is Larkin, Larkin Wolfe. This is my wife Evita, and somewhere in the cart are the kids. Kids! Get out here and meet the neighbors!" shouted Larkin.

From the back of the cart came two children, a young girl and an older boy. The boy was about 10 dressed in black trousers, small light brown shoes, and a white short sleeved shirt that was tattered along the bottom edge covered by a brown leather jacket with no buttons. His ginger hair was just like his fathers with a small curl like his mother. Stiking stain glass blue eyes outshine the red in his cheeks and nose. The girl was about 4 years old, same as Jack, with black curly hair and earthly green eyes like her mother. She was dressed in a white tunic as well and walked with light brown shoes on her feet.

"Yes father?" asked the kids at the same time. The little girl hid behind her mother away from the other people, but her eyes widened when she connected her green eyes with the 4 year old brown boy eyes behind his father's leg.

"Now, my boy Manuel and my girl Valora, these are our new neighbors-..umm" said Larkin

"Devon. Devon Hanson, this is my wife Hilary and my son Jackson. He can be a bit shy around newcomers. No need to be afraid Jack" he said as he kneeled to his son, ruffling his hair a little. He then stood up and turned to Larkin, "Well, come on inside before it gets cold. Hilary, why not fix up that special brew you always cook? We'll have the bread with it too. In the meantime, Larkin, let's get those fine animals in the barn while the wife starts the brew, eh?" he said with such cheerfulness.

Hilary and Evita, or Eevie, along with Manuel, head inside to get started on dinner, leaving the two 4 year olds alone.

Jack shifted his feet with his head down in shyness, occasionally glancing at the black haired girl. She places her hands behind her back and rolls on her heels a little while looking toward the sky.

She then glanced down at the boy and held out her hand while giving a small smile and spoke, "Hola! My name is Valora. Well, my real name is Melody, but I like Valora better. What's your name?" she asked.

The brown haired boy looked at her a little strange before, hesitantly, taking her soft hand in his, giving her a small smile at the sudden courage, "My name is Jackson, but I'm called Jack. It's nice to meet you Valo-Valasmila- ummmm, do you mind if I call you Val?" he asked, embarrassed by his slur.

She giggled at his little mistake and gave a nod, "I don't mind, I'm actually called that more than Valora. It's a pleasure to meet you Jack, or should I say Celio?" she grinned.

Jack tilted his head in confusion, "Cel-Celio?"

Valora nodded, "My mommy says that she is in heaven when she is with friends, just like how I am with my first friend. And according to mommy, Celio means heaven, so you are my Celio, my heaven" she smiled with her eyes closed.

"Jack! Valora! Come and help with dinner, won't you? We could use the help!" shouted Hilary from inside the house.

"Coming!" shouted the two children. Jack looked at Val and offered his hand, with a new spark of courage and spunk, to which she happily took it and walked into the house together.

That was the spark of what was to be a beautiful friendship that lasted both of their childhoods. Soon, time flew by, 13 winters as a matter of fact, and the bond was stronger than ever.

Village, 1693

During the time, Jack became a strong handsome young man. His hair grew spikier and his eyes full of wonder, mischief and fun. From his boyhood dress shirt, he adorned a white man's shirt, a brown leather vest, and brown/khaki trousers with rope tied to the bottom. He was lithe and lean, but had muscle like a blacksmith. Almost every woman in town wanted to be with him, but he would politely turn them down, saying that he has eyes for another, which was the truth. His father offered him a job as a shepherd for the sheep and cattle and was paid quite well, so well that he bought his own elk, a female he named Kisa. He also became a brother to one little sister.

She looked almost like Jack save for a rounder face and long brown straight hair. Her name was Genta, but for as long as she could remember she always responded to Ginny. She and Jack would always be having fun, be it mischief or games or anything else that involved laughter. And wherever the two went, Ginny's friends were always close behind looking for fun and trouble.

As for Valora, she grew into a fair young maiden. Her black hair became curly like her mother's and was often pulled back into a low mid-back ponytail tied with a dark purple ribbon that Jack gave her for her last birthday, and her eyes sparkled like emeralds fresh from cleaning, full of wonder and curiosity. Her attire consisted of a white undershirt with mid-arm loose sleeves, a light brown sleeveless dress that went to her mid-calf, a white apron, and black heel-less shoes. In the years that she and Jack have grown up together, they both learned how to ride elk from her father. She, like Jack, has an elk to call her own, a bull named Jovan. She took a job at the bakery, slipping some sweet bread to Ginny and her friends when she could, and providing bread and other baked goods to those who couldn't afford it, especially over the holidays. Overall, she grew into a caring, responsible young lady with cheekiness underneath.

Normally the two teenagers would be too busy to see one another during the day, but every once in a while, the two of them would have a day off where they didn't have to do any work, any chores, nothing.

On this particular day, just as the moon was beginning to set, Jack went over to Valora's on the back of his she-elk and whistled a small tune to wake her, their normal signal for the day of freedom.

Valora shot up from her bed with a smile on her face as she dressed, grabbed a sac filled with bread and fruit for the day ahead, moved quietly through the house without disturbing anything and made her way to the stable where Jovan waited irritably for the ride to start. She quickly packed everything on, mounted her bull and met Jack at the front of the house, where the two quietly went through the village.

Once they were a good hundred yards away, the two riders picked up their pace and fled through the forest like eagles to the sky. Often they would try to outrace each other, only ending up neck and neck. Soon in all the speed and laughter, the duo would end up in a meadow filled with flowers that shimmered like crystal as the sun began to rise up, showing nature in all its glory with light and color. From there the riders made their way to their favorite spot, a lake in the middle of the meadow with a few large willow trees swaying in the breeze of the morning sunlight. The two dismounted and walked their way to the growth underneath where the lake was a blue-green, undisturbed by man, just the way the teens wanted it to be. This was their heaven, the one place where it would be just themselves and their elk.

Jack was laying down on the ground beneath one of the willow trees with his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky lost in thought. His eyes began to shut and fall asleep again until…

"Jack"

"Hmm?" Jack sat up to see Valora looking at him with a hint of worry. She doesn't normally call him by his real name unless there was a serious situation, "What's wrong Val?"

"Well," she started (I imagine her with Ariel's voice from the little mermaid), "Do you think, with what we are now, that we'll be like this forever?" she looked a little worried, hence the nervousness in her voice.

Jack looked at her with a puzzled expression and tilted his head, "Well with where we are now as our friendship goes, I think so. What makes you say that?"

She turned toward the lake, took a deep breath and looked back at Jack, showing her fight of holding back tears as she choked a little when she spoke, "I don't know if this will last much longer Jack. My parents want me to marry soon so I can have a good life. And if I don't find someone, they will send me off with a bankers son, never to return like Manuel did with Elizabeth when they wed" she said, a few tears forming on her eyes.

Jack was shocked to hear the news. He got up to sit beside Val and hugged her close, letting her sob into his chest as the fear and worry were obvious.

"I-I wanted to tell father I wasn't ready, but I couldn't get it out because…." She lifted her head to meet Jack eye to eye, "there is only one man I truly love, but I know he doesn't share the same feelings for me" she attempted to dry her eyes, but it didn't work as her eyes continued to water.

Jack cupper her cheek and wiped away some of her tears, "Val, who is this person you love?" he asked, trying to help her.

She shook her head and looked away, "If I tell you, you may not like it and I don't want that" she said, tears falling more.

"Val, it's ok. You can tell me, I won't be offended or anything. I won't even laugh" said Jack in an effort to comfort his friend. Although deep down, he was afraid of who she is in love with, fearing the worst.

She looks at him, no through him with those piercing green tear stained eyes and took another deep breath to calm herself and spoke, "The one who I truly love…is…is….you, Celio" she let more tears fall as she held her head in her hands.

Jack looked at her with shocked eyes as he felt his cheeks flush and his heart race as he learned the truth. It was then that he knew what he had to do, and that was tell her his true feelings. He took her hands away from her face and lifted her chin to meet his smiling brown eyes as tears formed on the corners. "Val," he started as he took a deep breath.

"Val, I've known you since my childhood and I have to say that I was proud to be your best friend. But once I reached my man age, I thought more about us when I realized that it is love that I feel for you. I want nothing more than to make you happy, and if loving you is what makes you happy, then I am happy too, because…..because I love you too Val, and I would be honored to have you as my wife" a single tear runs down his face.

She looked at him with shocked eyes at his confession, "You….You really love me?...Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"Maybe it's better if I show you how I feel about you" said Jack as he cupped both sides of her face and pulled her close to him, laying his lips on hers gently as the salt from his own tears glazed them. Tears of joy streaked Valora's face as the two stood and she placed her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist pulling her close. The kiss lasted for about 2 minutes when they pulled back, smiling at the truth. "You know, I don't really have a ring, but I'm sure I can do something or make something to replace it" said Jack as he scratched his head sheepishly.

Val then realized and looked around a bit before stopping at the base of one of the nearby trees, picking up an orange gold flower in the process. "Your father is friends with the local carpenter right? How about asking him if he can make a wooden flower, a marigold for example, and cut it in half, then placing pendent rings in the halves so you have one and I have one? That should be enough right?" she said.

Jack thought for a moment then nodded his head. "That sounds fair enough. I'll do that- oh, wait, how are we gonna tell our parents?" he thought, worried about his families reaction.

Valora stood up and started to worry, "Oh dear, your right, hmm" she thought for a moment before her eyes widened and snapped her fingers with an idea, "I know! The summer harvest is coming up this week, I'll bet that we can tell them then, when everyone is happy and having fun! When both of our families are having a good time, we'll pull them aside and tell them of our proposal. "

"Brilliant! You were always a smart girl Val, and that is one of the things I love about you" said Jack, a smile from ear to ear on his face.

Suddenly a low growl was heard as Jack's face turned a slight pink.

Valora giggled as she noticed the tinge on his cheeks, "And I have always loved your taste for fun," she said, "and your taste for food too" she continued giggling as Jack joined her. They spent the rest of the day making plans for the wedded life. Children, jobs, sacrifices, and everything else needed to make a life worth living. After a long day of discussing their future, the two rode back home, preparing themselves for when they had to give their announcement.

One and a half weeks later, the summer harvest festival came and everyone was having the times of their lives. Jack and Valora had been together the whole day preparing for what to say when their parents react to the proposal. During the wait, Jack had made contact with the carpenter to make a request for the wedding pendants, two halves of a wooden marigold. Made from cedar to stay true to its orange color and with a delegate hand, the flower almost looked real, if only it wasn't cut in half. On part where the cut was made were each of their name burned into the pieces. Each pendent was fastened with a brown ribbon that measured to the place where their heart beats. Jack placed Valora's around her neck and she did his. With one final prayer, the two set out to find their families for the big moment.

About an hour later, the two brought their families in front of the local bank where no one was a bother. Both teens took one last breath before they began.

"Dad" said Valora, "do you remember what you told me a few weeks back? About life?"

Her father and mother looked at her skeptically, "Yes, what about it?" asked her father, eyeing from her than to Jack.

"Well, I thought hard about it, and I finally came to a decision" she stopped and looked to Jack, who nodded.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe, you two have known me since I was little and know me quite well, so well in fact that I have been there for your daughter and have brought her comfort, laughter and happiness. So I feel that you will have no problems when I ask now for your permission for me to marry your daughter and have her become my wife" said Jack, honest but straight forward.

All the family members gave a gasp at the announcement, but all Devon could do is smile at his son's choice. Hilary then came to her senses and smiled as well. Eevie started to tear up at the news as she hugged her husband with joy. Larkin had his eyes wide and his mouth low as Valora placed her hand in Jack's gripping it tightly.

"I personally say that there is nothing wrong with this, and you have my blessing" said Eevie, "because you know each other better than anyone and I knew Jack, I knew that someday, my daughter would be yours" she looked to Larkin, "well honey, don't just stand and stare at the two, say something"

Larkin took a deep breath before he shook his head and placed a hand on his head, "I have a confession to make, and a dreadful one at this time" he began, "Had you told me that you had made your mind up earlier, I wouldn't have sent a letter to the banker in the next town to tell his son that you were available for marriage"

Valora and Jack felt their hearts sink at the news. Jack placed a protective arm in front of Valora fearing that he will have to fight for her hand.

"But," said Larkin, "when they arrive, I will have to tell them that my daughter has fallen for another, one that she has known for all her life and one that will keep her happy for many years to come" he finished with a smile across his face.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief as Valora hugged his arm lovingly from behind, knowing that everything was going to be alright. Later that night at the festival, Larkin made an announcement about Jack and Valora's proposal and that the two of them told him that they wished to be married four days after Easter, when spring was in full bloom, which was eight months away, plenty of time for families from both Jack's and Valora's sides to come and join in the big celebration. Everyone was overjoyed and congratulated the two on the wonderful news.

Months had passed and Easter was but a week away. It was that very day that Valora decided to take a break from everything and go for a ride on her own, specifically to make a bouquet of flowers for her dress. Little did she know that trouble was just behind one of the trees that encircled her.

As she was minding her own business, picking up lilies, daisies and foxgloves for her bouquet, Jovan started to grunt nervously. Valora looked to him to see what was wrong but she quickly turned to the deep low demonic growl that came from behind her. From behind a large oak appeared a large black bear with black tinted white fangs that dripped black ooze from its wide scaryingly large mouth, glowing dangerous red eyes, paws the size of frying pans bearing claws the size of daggers, and a roar that raddles the bravest man to cry like a child. Valora's eyes became wide as saucers as she backed up away from the beast that moved toward her, eyes focused on her instead of the bull elk behind the now frail human being.

"Jovan, run. Run Jovan RUN!" shouted Valora as she started to run to a nearby forest clearing. The bull listened and ran off toward the village while Valora started to climb a nearby oak tree, the bear hot on her tail. From a boulder overlooking the site, a wolf coated in black, beige and gray watches fearfully with dark sky blue eyes as he turns around to follow the elk to the village. High above him flies a Northern Goshawk, soaring it's way above the wolf to the village where preparations were being made.

Unaware of the danger, Jack talks with a few of the girls who had been on him about marrying Valora.

"Oh please Jack, why marry her of all people?" asked one of them sweetly.

"Because, ladies, unlike you girls, Valora has no competition when it comes to my interests, besides, I haven't known you all that long. Val, I've known her since I was 4, and had it not been for her, I wouldn't be as social as I am today-" their conversation was interrupted by a distressed elk bugle. "What the?" Jack said as he made his way to the center of the village where Jovan was wide eyed and looking stressed out. He gently went to the bull, grabbed his reins and petted him a little bit.

"Easy boy, easy. Where's Valora?" he asked as the bull tried to pull away. Suddenly a bark was heard and Jack saw the gray wolf pacing back and forth while looking at Jack, barking while doing so, trying to get Jack to follow him. Getting the message, Jack grabbed his staff, a dagger and a lantern and mounted Jovan.

"Jack!" shouted Ginny, "What's going on?"

"I don't know but I think Valora's in trouble. Go tell Mr. Larkin and Dad that something is wrong, I gotta go save my bride, be back later! Hyah!" he finished as he whipped the reins and the canine, elk and elk rider rode off to find the bride in distress.

Through the dark of the woods and over a river, the gray wolf lead Jack deeper and deeper into the woods, further from civilization, further from help. Soon the group were at the small clearing where Valora was high up in a tall oak tree where the branches were too far for the bear to reach.

"Help! Someone! Help!" Valora cried, scared out of her mind, clinging to the tree for dear life as the bear then tried to shake it so she would fall.

The wolf charged the bear and bit down hard on its tail end while Jack dismounted Jovan and gripped the dagger ready for battle. The bear gave a howl and turned to swat the wolf, but it was too quick and moved out of the way, snarling and showing its teeth defensively. Again the bear swatted at the wolf again, but he backed away before it could hit. Jack took this as a chance to jump on the bear and try to stab it as much as he can, but the pelt was too thick and he couldn't break through. He jumped off when the bear stood on its back legs and began to fall backwards, in an attempt to crush Jack. The teen male then made an attack at the bears throat, but the jaws were quicker than him and attempted to snap his arm off, only catching his sleeve and ripping it off. When the bear got back on its feet, Jack grabbed his staff , jumped onto the bears back again and placed the staff at the windpipe of the bear in an attempt to choke it. While Jack kept the bear occupied, the wolf barked at Valora to come down the tree and follow it so she can make an escape. She got the message but kept her eyes on the bear and Jack to see how her husband to be was holding. He was doing fine when suddenly, his right foot slipped on the fur and lowered to one side. The bear swung it's paw and dug it's claws into Jack's back, making him scream in pain and shiver slightly.

"Jack!" shouted Valora, making him and the bear turn to see that she was down from the tree.

"Run Val! Go! I'll keep him occupied! Get out of here! GO!" shouted Jack as he stabbed the bear in the side of the head as his shirt started to turn red.

Val didn't want to leave, but the wolf gripped a part of her dress gently and got her to run with him, quickly for that matter. Jack watched his bride run off, as this would be the last time he saw her. The bear made an attempt to stand and fall back again, only to have Jack jump out of the way again, this time less gracefully because of the pain. He picked up his staff and tried to hold his ground, but he was starting to feel light headed, so, while the bear was trying to recover from the pain in its back, Jack used a torn piece of his shirt and tied the dagger to his staff in an attempt to make a spear. Once the bear recovered and prepared to give the final blow on its hind legs, Jack ran to it with all his might, swung the knife part of the staff straight at the bears chest, but missed when the beast, like a man, pulled it's whole body back and brought it up again. It raised its paw and swung so hard that Jack flew with back first to a nearby cliff wall and collapsing on the ground unconscious, a small amount of red on the rock as Jack's vision turned black.

(Staying with Jack's side of the story from now on because if I did Valora's side, it would ruin the suspense and surprise and I don't want to do that. Not to you guys XP )

Jack started to stir as he felt heat hit his face, awaking him from his slumber. He opened his eyes to see he was in his own room. He and his sister had two separate bedrooms, both across from one another upstairs on the second floor. Jack's bedroom was about 10' by 11', a decent sized room consisting of a dresser with a small mirror, a small desk where he could read, draw, etc. that was now covered in bandages and ointment for some strange reason. He sat up in his bed, but then felt a sharp pain from his back as he groaned and laid back in bed, hissing in pain slightly. While occupied with his pain, he didn't even hear footsteps into his room as a voice made him jump.

"Jack!" shouted his younger sibling happily as she ran to his bedside and hugged his arm.

"G-Ginny? What's going on? Why am I home? Where's-" his eyes widen at the thought of his beloved. He was about to get up when his mother came into the room.

"Oh Jack! You're alright! Thank heavens!" she said as she hugged her son, tears of relief sliding down her cheeks. Devon was standing in the doorway with a look of sad relief, glad that his son finally woke up.

"Mom, what happened? Where's Valora? Is she safe? Please tell me she is, please" Jack asked worried.

Hilary looked to Devon, who gave a small nod to her. She turned her head and looked down before grabbing Jack's hand and looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Jack, Mr. Larkin saw everything from the cliff that the goshawk lead him to. He saw Valora escape and you fight off the bear, which was brave and stupid you know. But when you were knocked against the cliff wall, the bear chased down the same path that Valora did. Fearing for his daughter's safety, he went after the bear, only to find the wolf that lead you to the fight injured and in pain" she took something out from her apron pocket, "This was all that was found of Valora, the ribbon she use to tie up her hair. It was found in the wolf's mouth before it collapsed to the ground. There was no other evidence of her body or of the bear. It was as if they disappeared into thin air"

Jack took he ribbon gingerly as he felt tears starting to block his vision, knowing that he had failed to protect the one he loved, "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"About four days Jack. It took some strong herbs to get you to sleep so the nurses could work on those scars" explained Devon, a sad look on his face.

Jack looked down in disbelief, trying to take everything in as he held the dark purple ribbon in his hands and tears dropping down his cheeks as he started to quietly sob. His mother placed her arms around her son to let his sadness out as he sobbed and heaved in mourning for his fiancé and friend that he couldn't save.

"I-I should have been stronger. Had I taken a sword I could have-" Jack began to ramble as his mother spoke soothing words in his ears, explaining that he did all he could and that Valora's parents don't blame him at all.

The next few days were hard on all the villagers. On the night just before Easter, they gathered at the cemetery outside the village to pay mourning to the fallen maiden. Everyone placed a rose on the gravestone, including the wolf and goshawk that were present when the men tried to rescue her. Once everyone left, Jack stayed behind to stay with his fiancé one last time. Her elk nudged Jack's face gently, almost as an attempt to try to comfort him. Jack looked at him thoughtfully and petted the gentle giant. He turned to a sound of crunching to see that the wolf, now recovered, and the hawk, riding on the canine's back, come close to Jack. The wolf rubbed it's nose against Jack's hand as Jack got on his knees to meet the wolf at eye level. Broken ruddy-brown looking into sad dark sky blue as the wolf licked Jack's tears. Jack grabbed the wolf's face with both hands and brought it so he could see it.

"I never did say thank you. If it wasn't for you, all of you, I would've had my wife go missing without anyone noticing" he gently petted the wolf and moved his arms around the wolf's neck, careful not to frighten it, "Bless you…..Bless you all" Jack spoke as tears fell from his eyes again and he sobbed. But the wolf didn't pull away, instead, it placed its head on Jack's shoulder tightly and wrapped one paw around his lower back in an attempted hug. Although Jack was too occupied with his sobs, he could have sworn that he felt something warm on his back, as if the wolf himself was crying for Jack. The hawk had its head hung low an it's eyes closed. Jovan lowered his head and his ears in sadness as the sun sank into the mountains, leaving the grieving group in nothing but darkness.

_Jack….._

A voice, deep and rich, called his name.

"Jack….Jack…..JACK! WAKE UP MATE!"

Blue eyes fly open as pale skin is shaken awake by two strong furry gray and white arms. Green eyes watch with worry as Jack shook his head and sat up.

"Ugh, did you have to wake me up like that Bunny?" Jack asked the Pooka beside him.

"Jack, you were in a deep sleep, as if you were in pitch's death sleep" spoke a flying fairy like creature with colors that reminded one of a peacock and bright purple eyes, "Is everything ok?"

Jack sighed, "Yeah, just….an old painful memory popped up" He then reached over to his nightstand, opened the drour and pulled out a small brown and green box with a willow tree on the lid painted in white. Jack traced the tree delicately before opening it to reveal the half of the wooden marigold that he kept for nearly 300 years prior to both his and Valora's deaths that happened the same year, 1694. He traced the petals of the flower and then held it to his chest as a small tear falls down his cheek.

"Jack? Is that necklace special?" asked Bunny, concerned for the young winter spirit.

He nodded his head, "It belonged…well half of the pendant belonged to my bride and I saved my half. It was one marigold flower that was cut in half and was used in place of rings for us. I knew I kept it for a reason, but I couldn't remember why, until last night. This is a symbol of my was to be marriage, but it never happened" he finished sadly while his face was turned from his friends.

Tooth floated in front of Jack, giving a look that had both sadness and desire, for wanting to know the full story. Jack sighed and gave in. After a few hours, Jack finished with his memory. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he told the end and he fought to not have them fall. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw bunny with sadness and understanding in his eyes.

"I'm sorry mate, I had no idea" he said

"It's fine" Jack choked as the droplets of water finally fell. Bunny couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Jack into him, gently while rubbing his back like an older brother to his younger sibling, letting Jack sob into his fur.

No one, not even the guardians, realized that Jack had not just the burden of being alone but the burden of blame that he had carried all his life even though his family from the past said that it wasn't his fault, he still felt partial blame for not being strong enough to protect her. He carried it to this very day without realizing it and only remembering when the pain struck his heart like a bullet.

Jack continued crying until he fell asleep, to which Bunny and Tooth decided to let him sleep, giving him some of Sandy's dream sand to hopefully calm him down. Fortunately for them, it worked as Jack slept soundly into the night.

**Well, that's it for now, please let me know what you all think of this ok? As of now it is 12: 33 and I am tired so I say goodnight everyone, I need sleep! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Heya guys! Kenya here! Finally after a month of working around studies and whatnot, I have been able to get this second chapter up! This may be the last one for a little while because of my studies so you'll have to bear with me alright? And, as a personal request, would you all please review to see how I am doing? I really enjoy critique and opinions on how I am doing and it is also essential for me to improve as a writer. So please PLEASE review, please? Anyway so, this story also has some song inspiration. The first is "Another Try" by Josh Turner, next is "Camelot Main Titles" from the television series Camelot, then there's "Guardians Regroup" from the Guardians movie. From the last chapter were, "Fate and Destiny", "Get the Key" and "We've both changed" from Brave, and "Three brothers" from Brother Bear (specifically the ending from Sitka's funeral). Hope you all enjoy this and let me know how I am doing ok? Reviews = good! ^^ **

Chapter 1: How time Flies…

1 ½ years after Pitch was defeated, October 12th 2012

Jack awoke from his sleep with tear stained, deep, sapphire blue eyes of sadness and pain. Although Sandy's dream sand helped with easing some of the pain he felt from his personal blame, it didn't heal every scar he bears. He sat up on the edge of his bed and rubbed his face with his now cold, frigid fingers and palms to try and cool his warm face. Stopping at his forehead he remembered Valora's face before she was killed by the bear, how her eyes widened with fear for her and Jack's safety, how her skin paled after she saw Jack get clawed, and how her long low black ponytail swayed as she ran for her life, the life that was taken from her too early in time. He sighed as he stood up and stretched his muscles after being in bed for what appeared to be five hours.

Moving to his own personal bathroom he turned on the water in the sink, gathered the water in his hands and splashed his face with the cold water in an attempt to wake himself up more. He grabbed the face towel and dried the water from his face before it froze on his skin, looking at the mirror when he finished, his hair like a birds nest sprinkled with morning dew with eyes that looked like ocean basins, deep and dark.

With another sigh he moved out of the bathroom to grab one of three blue hoodies that he owned, grabbed his staff, which was hanging from the overhead rack from his bed, and walked out to the hustle and bustle of the North Pole workshop. Walking slowly and quietly, he replayed the memory over and over again to try to remember how he could have stopped the accident. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the other guardians talking to him, until he bumped into something big and soft.

"You alright mate? Still upset about that memory?" asked Bunny, looking down at Jack who bumped into him.

"Tooth and Bunny told me the story of what happened, Jack. I'm sorry that it came up like a bullet to you" said North who came up beside Jack and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine. Not like anything can be done now" said Jack, trying to be positive, but obviously not working.

Sandy came over and gently rubbed Jack's hand while smiling sadly, sand signaling that he was sorry for him.

Tooth was looking down when she thought of an idea, "Hey Jack? Do you still remember where Valora's grave is?" she asked him.

Jack winced slightly at the mention of her name but recovered to answer the multi colored fairy, "Yes, why?"

"Well, I was thinking, since you remembered her, why not try to ease the pain by decorating her grave? I heard from the kids in Mexico that they honor their dead by decorating the graves and what-not, so why not decorate her gravestone?" she suggested.

"Good idea Tooth, that should make things a little easier right?" said North looking at Jack.

Instead the teen sighed, "If only there was a person to honor. Her body was never found so they placed that grave as a marker so that if they did find the body, they could give her a proper burial" he then floated to a book shelf where he removed a large book filled with records of residence, turning to one specific page and stopped at the name Melody Wolfe, moving sideways to how she died and if she was recovered. "And as you can see here, it says that her body was never found. Decorating the grave is a good idea Tooth, but it would be better if it was honored with a real buried body. Thanks for the idea though" he then placed the book back and floated back down while using his feet to pick his staff up. "But," he said as the guardians looked at him, "I wouldn't mind visiting her grave, since it's been a while. And….I wouldn't mind company either" he looked down, a small blush appearing on his pale cheeks, embarrassed.

"Well then, to Valora's Grave it is! Everyone, to the sleigh!" said North as he went to gather his coat.

"No thanks mate, I'm taking the tunnels" said Bunny as he turned to Jack, "Where's the graveyard?"

"Meet us at Goldhawk Hill in Burgess. She's not buried at any cemetery I can tell you that" said Jack as he smiled for the first time today.

So with that, Bunny went through his tunnels and the rest went on the Sleigh to Goldhawk hill, an old war zone named for a former governor of the 1600's. The hill had breath-taking views of both the city of Burgess and the sunset laying over the mountains, creating a palate of pinks, yellows, and oranges. By the time the big five got there, the sky was a tainted red. How ironic.

"Turned red in honor of the fallen huh? Heh" said Jack as he moved out of the sleigh.

The winter spirit then leads the group through a labyrinth of trees to a small vacant spot where several old graves reside. Among them, in the far back right corner where a small view of the now present town of Burgess sits, an old double gravestone with a small angel statue on top sits alone. Jack walked gracefully toward the tombstone while looking at the different names on the other tombstones. Miguel and Elizabeth, Larkin and Evita, Hilary and Devon, Jack's sister Ginny and her husband, and a few other members of both families that Jack never knew. When he reached the back tombstone, he knelt and placed his hand on the cold still statue of the small angel that stood above the plaques dully shimmering upon it. Below the angel's feet, a small plaque read in large letters 'DIED BEFORE THEY WERE MARRIED, BODYS NEVER FOUND TO BURY'. Below that were two plaques, one that read Jack's name, time alive and a small saying, another reading Valora's. Water was blurring his vision as he traced Valora's name delicately when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Bunny and the other guardians around him at the grave with small sad smiles of sympathy as Jack closed his eyes and let the tears fall.

"Jack, don't move" said Bunny in a scared and worried tone, all of the sudden.

Slowly Jack lifted his head and his gaze to see two vivid blue pools of surprise and sadness surrounded by fur of tan, brown and black. His eyes widened in shock as he remembers the owner of those eyes, the one who lead him to the fight for Valora's life, the wolf who attempted to save her.

"It's you" said Jack breathlessly, surprised to see the one who warned him was still alive after all these years. The wolf looked at him cautiously and started to growl lightly. Jack laughed a little and shook his head, "I figured you wouldn't recognize me, considering it has been over 300 years since you helped in saving my fiancé from that demon bear" he looked at the wolf with hopeful eyes.

The wolf's ears perked up and eyes slightly widened at Jack's remark. He moved closer to the pale teen and sniffed him, only to lunge him and lick Jack's face in happiness. Jack laughed as he petted the wolf's head and fur and wiping his face of spit after the happiness toned down. The teen then hugged the wolf like he did all those years ago, which the wolf hugged back, tightly.

"It's been a long time old friend" said Jack as he released the hug, looking at the wolf's face with a smile that could melt permafrost. Suddenly a caw was heard from above and Jack raised his head to see the Goshawk perched on a branch that was right above his and Valora's gravestone, right next to the angel.

"So you're here too huh? I'd pet ya, but I don't think those talons will suit well with my hoodie" Jack said, getting a laugh from the guardians, who were happy that the old Jack was starting to come back.

The young hawk just ruffled it's feathers and shook it's head as it looked at the wolf and cawed a few times as if it were talking to it. The wolf looked at the hawk and the two engaged in what would be a conversation that the guardians did not understand. After at least two minutes, the wolf looked at Jack and around him until his eyes laid on his staff for a second. The canine looked at the pendant and started to inch towards it with it's mouth open while Jack leaned back trying to get the pendant away from the wolf. Suddenly, as fast as a snake bite, the wolf turned, grabbed Jack's staff from the ground and took off, the Goshawk trailing behind him.

Jack blinked twice before realizing what happened, "Hey! Come back here with that!" he yelled as he ran off towards the duo who were pretty far ahead.

"Jack!" shouted Bunny as he looked toward the guardians, who silently agreed to catch up, "Wait up!" they shouted as they ran after the teenager.

For a small fragile animal, the wolf was pretty fast, even for Jack. Like the wind to the sky, the canine moved gracefully through the woods while dragging Jacks staff behind him, the crook in its mouth and covered in slobber.

The Hawk flew high above to see the trail better as Jack chased closely behind the wolf, the guardians on Jack's tail closing in.

Jack inched closer and closer to the wolf as the group ran through the thick dark forest away from the town of Burgess and into the unknown. The forest around them became darker and wild as moss as thick as sheepskin rugs and greener than emeralds started to coat the trees and land around. After what appeared to be hours of running, the wolf makes a sharp right turn, throwing Jack off and making him stumble a bit in the dirt, and ran to what appeared to be an old forest temple. Tall as a mountain and thick as a red tree, the canine climbed up the moss covered steps with the hawk swooping above him to the inner chambers of the temple. Jack was not far behind but stopped in his tracks with the others following suit as they gazed at the magnificence of the shrine that was taken by nature. Jack took a deep breath and exhaled sharply as he climbed the steps of the structure to follow the paw prints of the thief, the others slowly falling behind. Bunny was the last one to enter the shrine as he looked around nervously and anxiously, getting the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Uh, mates I don't like this. I'm getting a bad feeling about that wolf, like it's not what it seems to be when we saw him" said the oversized rabbit.

"He saved my fiancé, well attempted to, so I own him. But I don't know why he took my staff. It's like he was trying to get my att-" Jack wasn't able to finish his sentence as he fell down a hole screaming.

"Jack?! Jack! Where are-"The same thing happened to Bunny and the others as the same hole seemed to move around the group, making them scream and not know where they were going. When light finally showed itself, the big five fell into a pond that laid below the tunnel exit. This didn't feel like ordinary pond water though because Jack wasn't freezing it on the spot like he would naturally do. It was warmer than normal and surrounded by moss.

"Where are we?" asked Tooth as she swam her way to the shore and climbed up the moss, cleaning her wings.

"I wish I knew" said North, carrying his now soaked thick coat in one arm and helping the other men with his other arm.

"You are in the Kingdom of Virelith, frontier for the Guardians of Nature" said a voice from nowhere.

The group looked around franticly for the source of the voice, until Sandy's chiming turned all attention to a nearby oak tree where a boy about three years older than Jack's visual age sitting in the tree, blue eyes covered by strands of short messy black hair overlooking the scene while clad in a short sleeve brown tunic graces his tan fit upper torso while wearing trousers that are tight at the waist area that flow out a little at the end of the pant leg covering light tan Greek sandals. Next to him was a very thin girl with hair so light that it almost looked gray but it was blonde. Her ash grey eyes overlook the group while clad in a midnight blue Greek toga covering all her torso except her left shoulder. Grey sandals are placed upon her feet while silver bracers like bunny but hers don't have any special markings or gemstones, they are just plan silver. Every item she wears gives her skin a bluish appearance to her already pale skin, much like Jack's only hers is pinker.

"Hey, uhh, you haven't seen a wolf around here with a staff in it's mouth have you?" asked Jack.

The two teens in the tree looked at each other and exchanged smirks.

"You mean **that** staff?" asked the boy as he pointed to an area behind Jack.

The white haired teen followed the direction of the finger to a willow tree where some of the branches held his staff further up the strands. Jack groaned as he flew up to grab his staff, only to be attacked by a flock of birds that made him fall into the water again, staff and all.

Jack surfaced from the water to collect his breath before glaring at the two teens in the tree who were laughing like crazy, the boy hanging on the branch by his feet, like Jack use to do to entertain the children when he was mortal.

"Why did you do that? I could have been pecked to death!" said Jack as he walked up the pond side.

"Sorry! Couldn't resist a good laugh! We haven't had one for a while since the attack" said the boy as he landed on his feet on the ground. The girl followed behind him with her toga flowing gracefully around her body. "We forgot to introduce. I'm Apollo, Guardian of small game. This is Athena, Guardian of Bird life. Former God and Goddess turned Guardians. Also known as the wolf and Goshawk that lead you all here" explained the boy, now named Apollo.

The big five looked at the two with dumbfound looks.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute" said Bunny, "You're telling us that the animals that we saw earlier and who have been wondering this planet for who knows how long have been the former Greek Gods and Goddesses and no one ever knew?!"

"Just about sums it up" said Apollo.

"During the times when the earth was somewhat young" Athena started, "we were worshiped to look over the people of the world, specifically Greece since we were worshiped there the most. We had all the power needed to protect everyone. But as time went by, fewer and fewer people believed in us. By the time that worshiping more than one god became usual, taboo even, we had to find another title for us to use our powers. Artemis, former Greek goddess of the moon, received a message from the moon stating that we should protect nature for the sake of the planet. And so, for several hundred years, we have been protecting nature with weapon and bone until the day that we choose a suitor, an heir who is a soul recently released from death's grip. For most of us, it only happened every millennia, some a bit earlier, others a bit longer-"Athena couldn't finish as she went silent and lifter her head up high, going dead silent as she did.

Bunny also went silent as his ears turned a certain direction while he stood on his feet. Just as he did in the warren when Sophie trespassed on his territory, he went on full alert, eyes moving, ears turning, nose sniffing and staying on edge.

"Something's up" he said.

A small brush of wind was felt by Jack as he turned to no longer see Athena on the ground, but up at the top of the tree, overlooking the land before her. Jack flew up next to her to see what the problem was, as he soon found out when he heard a large thump in the distance along with a small screech.

"What was that?" asked Jack a little worried.

"I hear rapid footsteps approaching!" called Bunny from down below.

"Uh-oh! Not good! Quick everyone! This way!" cried Apollo as he started to run, the ones on the ground following close behind. Jack and Athena floated down gracefully before joining the running band. The clan made their way to a thickly uprooted tree where a small tunnel underneath was large enough for everyone to fit. "Quick! In here!" Shouted Apollo as he motioned everyone to get in.

North went in first, followed by Tooth, Sandy, Bunny, Apollo, and Athena and Jack once the two arrived there in time. Breathing was well heard as the pale haired girl shushed them all to lower their breathing just as a loud thump was heard close by. Soon another was heard, followed by many others in a rhythm that resembled the feet of a giant walking on the land. About five minutes of loud noise later, a black figure appears right by the roots standing as tall as three story building. Its face could not be seen clearly because of the roots, but even from under the tangled mess, one could tell that the face was horrifically disfigured. Dark brown cloth covered with moldy like moss covers the crotch area and part of the chest area, leaving his right chest area open to the air. Slobber trailed down the left side of its mouth as it fell through the roots while smelling the air for something that the unnoticed group below couldn't quite get.

"What is that?" asked Tooth in a soft whisper to Athena.

"That is a dark troll. A combination of the two forms of darkness that are threatening our survival and our hold on nature" explained Athena, "Ruthless creatures, they are. They will do anything to make a man or woman tremble to the bone with terror before killing them for meat"

The five childhood guardians shivered slightly at the explanation. Jack grabbed his chest and heaved slightly before reaching for his pendant, only to realize it wasn't around his neck. In a silent frantic, he looked around and felt the ground for the pendant until he looked toward the entrance to the roots, where the pendant laid on the ground, right in view of the troll. At first, he hesitates on what to do, then, with eyes fully on the troll, he inches toward the entrance and slowly reaches for his pendant, with the beast oblivious to his action. As soon as he grabs it and begins to pull back, he looks to make sure he has a grip, before a black arm comes down in front of the entrance and a large dirty looking gold eye peaks through the root entryway. Everyone freezes on the spot, not moving or making any sound, only the faint sounds of rapid heartbeats could be heard as dirty gold widen at the sight of Jack. The eye is removed and a black hand reaches inside for the occupants, who move further back into the roots, trying to escape the grip.

"What did you do Jack?!" shouted Bunny, not enjoying being squished by several members of the party in one corner.

"My pendant fell off and I had to get it back!" he explained, keeping his feet away, "I didn't mean for this to happen!" shouted Jack as he grabbed his staff and froze the inside of the tree, creating a barrier to try and stop the troll. It seemed to work, until a muffled yell of "FROST!" and an explosion of a fist crushing the roots right next to Jack just happened. Everyone yelped in surprise at the attack and tried to move further back, only for Jack and Athena to be grabbed by the black beast, Jack in a firm grip while Athena was held by her foot between two fingers, holding her dress by her hands. Jack tried to struggle to get free as the beast brought the winter spirit close to it's face, breath flowing from its disgusting hole that reeked of dead carcasses and something else that Jack couldn't identify, but the fumes made his eyes water, gag like he was about to vomit, and he started to cough and sweat from the foul smelling heat.

Just as Jack started to think he was going to faint, the giant beast suddenly took a sharp breath in as a dripping sound was heard. Its eyes rolled to the back of its head as it collapsed right on top of the roots, taking Jack and Athena with it and releasing its grip. Jack managed to grab Athena's foot and fly up well enough to get her out of the way of the hand and collapses to the ground, trying to catch his breath, coughing while doing so.

"Jack! Are you alright?" asked North, worried about his 'son'.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. It's just that breath" Jack said, a little queasy from the stench.

"What caused that troll to fall? It couldn't have died on its own could it?" asked Bunny, overlooking the large beast.

"No, something must've killed it with the amount of blood that it's giving off" said Apollo, "But who-" The former god was cut off when a figure jumped down in front of them and stood up, towering the younger brown haired life form.

"There you are you little Brown-eyed Mullets!" shouted a clearly female Australian voice.

"Brown-eyed what now?" asked Bunny as he turned to see something that he would only dream to see.

There standing in front of Apollo was a 5'9" ash grey black speckled, floppy eared, female Pooka with red pooka tribe markings, purple tulip colored eyes, and a very thin coat of dust covered her body. Around her neck was a brown bandanna and a brown sash like Bunny wore except instead of places for egg bombs, a slit held a dagger that was blood-coated red fresh from an attack. She also wore silver braces with a thin gold leaf pattern on the edge instead of string on her feet.

"I've been looking everywhere for you two! Apollo, your sister's been looking everywhere for you, not to mention worried that you would be taken by Hades and his shadow prick of a partner! And Athena, I thought you were better than messing around with Apollo! What were you two doing here anyway?" asked the she-rabbit, clearly angry, staring down the two teenage nature protectors.

"Oh, yeah, Sorry Majabelle. But you know we need all the help we can get, and for your information you may want to thank us for bringing the guardians of childhood here to help in our battle!" said Apollo as he moved his hand toward the big five, who were dumbstruck to see the other rabbit being.

Purple eyes followed Apollo's arm to see the group of guardians standing by the fallen Troll's arm, still looking dumbstruck by the she-beast. She moved forward and examined each one, leaving Bunny last.

Sniffing could be heard as the speckled rabbit investigated the larger gray male.

"Fresh grass….paint…..paint remover…" she pulled her head back and gave Bunnymund a confused look with a small hint of disgust, "chocolate and carrots?"

"Not together if that's what you're thinking Shelia" said Bunny, holding his hands in a defensive position.

"It's not, just got curious. Anyway, best if I introduced myself. I'm Majabelle, but everyone calls me Maj or Maja for short. I'm a member of the Virelith Pooka tribe, one of 15 guardians of domestic plants, and, as you just saw, troll slayer. And you all are?" asked Maj.

Introductions were given thanks to North.

"So, how did a random bunch of dags like you end up here?" Maj asked as the younger guardians of nature started to walk off, "Did those two bring you here?" she asked sternly.

"Hey, wait a minute, it's actually thanks to them that I was able to try and save my bride 300 years ago! They should be given a little more respect" said Jack, offended by Maj's tone of voice.

The female Pooka looked at him confused, but then looked up, thinking about what he said then raised her eyebrows.

"Oooh, you're probably talking about the old Apollo. See that Apollo is about 50 years old, while the one you're thinking of was about…..914 maybe? I lost track after a while" explained Maj.

Suddenly a loud roar was heard through the trees, coming from the west, where the gateway between the two worlds was.

"Crikey, we better get out of here before the whole troll family finds their comrade dead. Come on, I'll take ya to the Castle Cadaliri, the nature guardian stronghold. That should hold you all until the trolls leave" explained Maj.

"What do you mean 'until they leave'?" asked Tooth.

The roar of the trolls started to get louder as faint thumping is heard in the distance.

"No time to explain here. I'll tell you along the way. Follow me!" shouted Maj as she took off past the big five and the two younger guardians.

They all followed the large rabbit down a dirt path out of sight when a shadow appeared from behind a tree, silver-gold eyes of a tall slender dark figure with a jagged smile entered with his long black robe flowing behind him.

He laughed a little before speaking, "Well, it appears that we have more company than intended. We may need more darkness, right Hades?"

Also from the shadows appeared another dark figure, this one only more menacing than the last. Poisonous blue eyes appear from a black cloud of thick smog before a man appeared in full form. A black ridged pointed crown was upon his head with a blue flame in the center, glowing the same color as his wrinkled eyes. His pointed agile jawline was covered with a black short beard and a thickly well groomed mustache graced his lips. Dark silver dragon-like armor glazed from his right mid-shoulder to the bottom of his left ribcage and covering his left arm at the elbow, which from his shoulder to his elbow, as well as his right forearm, was a skeletal face that would make even the boogeyman shutter. Under this armor, a long black cape-like cloth draped over his right shoulder, diagonally across his chest, revealing his toned chest and right ribcage and covered the left side of his body and draped all the way down to his feet. On his left arm, a dark sleeve made of the same material covered all the way to his wrist while his left side was bare. From the waist down, the same black cloth surrounded him as if it was a skirt, only it wasn't. In his left hand was a staff that looked just as menacing as his armor where the top had three poison blue gems at the top and the metal splits in two making seem like a large pinching beetle. Every step he took spread darkness into the forest around him, making everything dark, cold and dead.

"Yes it would appear so. It's been a while since I had a worthy foe. Plus, it appears that your old enemies have made an appearance for some reason. I'm sure that they will parish for exhaling you like they did" the man spoke with a voice so dark and scary that it could even send shivers down Jack Frost's spine. "And it appears that we may have an alliance on our hands. Well, we'll just have to do something about that now won't we, Pitch Black?"

"Yes, we will. After all, if the story that you told me is true about one of the guardians, well, I'm sure that this will be _interesting to experiment_ with. And as I had said before, just call me Pitch for now. I'm sure that my other name will be feared if this plan works out as we planned" said Pitch as he gazed down the path the guardians took as the trees begin to turn black and lifeless as the very life was being taken from them.

**Alright, so that's all for now. Hopefully you all like this so far because I have a lot planned for this story. It's my new favorite and I can't wait to write the rest. Also, check out my profile page! It has a picture (or pictures for future updates) of the characters that will make this story live up to its title. Hopefully you guys stick around to see what else this story has to tell ^^. Don't forget to review! Byes for now!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys, sorry for not updating in a while. Things just haven't been that great at school and all, but so far I am starting anew and no I have not gone brain dead with this story, it's just going to be a while before I can put a few more chapters up. But since I have a long vacation coming up, I hope to at least get two more chapters up if I can. So hopefully you guys enjoy this and if you have any questions, just let me know and I will try to answer them as best as I can.**

Chapter 2: The Truth of Virelith and remembering a friend.

After what felt like forever, the group finally came to the entrance to the woods, an opening meadow covered in purple Foxglove flowers, a rare flower to the big 5. Maj lead the group through the grasses and flowers until they were at a large boulder that shielded them away from the forest.

"Alright, we should be safe here for now, at least until the noise dies do-" Maj stopped her sentence as she saw the forest entrance turning black, "Oh no. They know we're here!" she then turned to Apollo and Athena, who were panting slightly from the rush, "You should have never gone there, or have brought these guys here! Now Hades knows about what you two did and it's only a matter of time before he finds Cadaliri. Why can't you two do as your told?!" she shouted as the two shrank in shame.

"Why shouldn't we have come here? We can help you guys out. We can fight you know?" said Bunny, offended by Maj's outburst.

"I know, but this is our responsibility and we have already lost too many casualties. Many of them Pookas. Either way, I want to apologize for these two bringing you guys here since you already have much to do back in your side of the world" explained Maj.

"What do you mean, 'our side of the world'?" asked Jack.

Maj sighed, knowing that this was going to be a lot to explain.

"Alright, you know the temple that you all went through?" she asked, receiving nods from the 5, "That's known as the 'Gateway Temple to the Two Worlds of Earth'; you may know it as the Afterlife Gate. Virelith is an ancient language, ancient more than Hebrew, word meaning "life after first". It is the land of the gods because, just as you started as someone before you became guardians, we were also someone before we gained our authority. The ones who started this were the first ancestors of the gods, Gaea, mother earth, and Uranus, father sky." She paused, letting it sink it for the guardians.

"From them came the monsters and titans who plunged the world into darkness. In an offense to stop the world from crumbling to asteroids, Gaea and Uranus, who were in a deep slumber at the time, called to the world of the mortals and found a few dying souls who needed a second chance, creating the third generation of gods, the original gods as we call them here. They are the backbone of our guardian powers and status. However, they were not granted total immortality, only 1000 years or so, depending on their need/worship. So they were to find heirs, or suitors, to continue the legacy of their powers and their timeline. But when the world started to change and our worshiping was over-ruled by Christianity and other ways of worship, we had to find a new way to use our powers in a positive way. So Uranus, who transformed himself into our moon when he found no suitors to take his place, took this as a chance for us to no longer help the people, but to help nature when it was needed most. It has been this way for thousands of years. However, after the first suitor, everyone stuck with the name of the past, such as Apollo and Athena" she then gestured to the two teens who turned their heads in embarrassment, "the same is said to many others and it has been this way for all millennia" explained Maj.

"But what about the Pookas?" asked Bunny, "How did they get into the mix?"

Maj shook her head as she looked to the sky with a laugh, "Ho-oh, now that's a trip down memory lane. Alright, where to start?" she paused to think, only for a sound of retching coming from beside the boulder to interrupt her thoughts.

Everyone turned to see Jack with black surrounding his lips as he tried to clean himself with his shirt sleeve.

"Sorry" said the pale spirit, "I think that troll breath is getting to me" he said as he gagged and puked again, using the rock to shield his face.

"Aww yeah, that's what troll's breath will do to you" said Maj as she made her way to Jack. She pulled a small wrapped package out of her sling and opened it to reveal a small amount of white cheese-like food. She took a medium sized chunk and handed it to Jack. "Here, eat this. It'll help with that"

Jack placed the piece in his mouth and started to chew. When he swallowed, he took a deep breath, which Maj placed her paw over his mouth and nose.

"You'll see, this is essential" she said reassuringly.

Jack looked confused but trusted her as he kept completely still. Suddenly his eyes widened as he felt something rush up his body system to his head and black smoke came straight out of his ears making his eyes cross in discomfort. After a few seconds, Majabelle released her paw from Jack and let him breathe again, coughing while doing so.

"What in the name of MiM was that?!" he shouted while knocking his head a few times to get the stuffed up feeling out of his head.

"That's Trolen. It's a medicine that helps with any condition caused by the breath of a troll. Comes in handy when you can't get near a healers hut or have other medicines. Plus, being the one who trains rookie pookas, I have to be prepared for anything" explained Maj.

Suddenly, a roar was heard from the forest. Everyone turned to the source to hear faint footsteps approaching.

"Come on, we better get out of here! I'll try to explain more in Cadaliri. We may meet up with Artemis before we get there" suggested Maj.

Apollo gave a small yelp at the mention of his sister's name, obviously because he doesn't want to be found by her. Jack was growing more curious about this Artemis character. He knew that Artemis was the older of the two, basically being a midwife when she first came into the world to her mother, but he didn't think of her being a bossy kind of person. He would just have to see about her. Who knows, maybe he'll like her.

With that thought in mind, Jack began to follow the group as they ran to the Kingdom of Nature.

After miles of running, Maj finally stopped at the edge of a cliff where he gestured for the others to join her.

"Here it is mates, Castle Cadaliri, stronghold and main kingdom of the guardians of nature, as well as the former kingdom of Olympus."

It stands in a hilly platue landscape where a few scattered castle homes dotted the rocky grassland. Small paths wind down a hillside off to the east leading to a stone gate that leads to a large castle on the western part of the platue. The castle itself looked industrial with smoke coming from the top of the castle towers and from the smaller blacksmith shops on the front corners of the gated castle grounds. If there was a word to describe the castle in the childhood guardians' world, it would be steampunk-like with an Italian stone design and an industrialistic edge. Flags of blue grace the tower's tops and front banners.

The guardians looked on in awe at seeing such a sight. As they were distracted by the sight, they failed to notice another pooka appear next to Majabelle. It was another female Pooka with white and tan peach fur and forest green eyes, darker tan-peach fur markings, two brown strings on her left arm, and two dark brown ankle braces with light brown details and blue and gold gems on them. She seemed like she was too delicate of a flower to fight, but no one spoke up about it.

"Sentry Turi, what's the report today?" asked Majabelle.

"Sir, it appears that the move of the guardians of both the desert and the sea Kingdoms have been successful. The new recruits are ready for battle when the time comes and, so far, there have been no known sign of the shadows from either Hades or the Ewari" explained the bright furred Pooka in a cheerful tone.

"Very good, and what of Artemis? Have you seen her?" Majabelle asked, standing proudly.

"Last I heard of her sir was this morning. She said that she had some scouting to do out to the west, where the damage has already been done. She also said something about finding an old temple that was still intact, but she would be back soon" explained Turi.

"Very well. Inform the other members that we have a newcomer to the area as well as a few new unexpected faces. Inform the rest of the castle too. Prepare the beds and all, because it looks like it's going to be a while before we help them get home. Understand?" asked Majabelle.

"Yes sir!" saluted Turi.

"Dismissed" Majabelle nodded. The sentry took off toward the palace as quick as a leaf in the wind. Majabelle then rejoined the others, who all but one was taking in the sights.

The young winter spirit was looking down at his pendant and gave a small sigh as he placed the necklace back around his neck. He was about to turn to the kingdom when something caught his eye.

In an open field placed beyond the river that separated both the west side kingdom and the east side platue town, a small white dot was moving across the plains at a fast pace. Jack squinted his eyes to try and see the dot better but couldn't make out anything. He turned to the group and looked at Athena.

"Hey Athena?" Jack asked, getting the pale maiden's attention, "what's that white dot beyond the river?" Jack pointed to the location of the dot and Athena came to him to see what he meant.

Placing her hand over her eyes, Athena squinted to see further and noticed the dot, "Oh dear, it's her"

"Who?" asked Jack.

"That…is Artemis on her white bull" explained Athena.

"That's Artemis?" Jack asked loudly.

Everyone turned to Jack as the white dot was coming closer to Cadaliri, now at a breakneck pace.

"Yep, that's Arty alright. Better sound the horn then" Majabelle said as she stood on a rock nearby and sounded a call.

"Oh no….." Apollo whispered as he bit his lip.

The dot then changed its direction and was now heading straight for them. No sooner had Majabelle stopped her calling that hooves could be heard and a white mass jumped onto the ledge the group was on.

"Whoa! Εύκολη αγόρι, εύκολη!*¹" shouted a voice as the bull started to stop. The elk looked as if it was about 4-5 years old and had a rack of at least three feet, antlers that would be a hunter's dream to catch. A bridle of green and gold covered its head with reins that lead to the back and a saddle with two tones of brown graced its back against the cloud white fur covering its body. A pair of dark eyes scans the current area and its black nose sniffs out the surroundings. From the back of the elk, a figure jumps to the ground.

After kneeling from jumping, the figure stands to reveal a young woman in her late teens that was about two to three inches shorter than Jack. Brick red hair tied in the back surrounds her head as a thick silver band graced her forehead. Eyes of a turquoise sheen shone from tan skin that surrounded her heart-shaped face. Around her neck were two necklaces, one a simple tree brown choker, the other a small turquoise blue teardrop gem on a thin string. Her dress reminded jack of something Native American as it was a simple dress that had tears at the bottom and along the neck shawl with a brown design at the waist that almost looked like farmer's brown bandana. Two silver arm braces reached from her wrist almost to her elbow if not off by three inches. There was also a cedar brown arrow case strapped to her waist with a dark cherry bow around her back. Jack could clearly see that her arrows were of oak and had feathers from a hawk of some kind. A pair of 3/4th's off knee high boots covered her feet. When a calm breeze moved by, a thick, thigh length brick red braid swayed gently in the breeze. Overall her appearance was of nothing more than one of high regards.

"Majabelle, Τι συμβαίνει εδώ?²" asked the young goddess.

Majabelle then started speaking in Greek and started to explain everything that happened to when she was out on duty to where they are now. All the while the red headed goddess listened intently. Apollo was with Athena hanging his head, as if he knew what was coming.

The guardians waited patiently for Maj to finish her speaking, but Jack was getting antsy. He couldn't stop staring at the young goddess. True she was beautiful, but that was not the reason why he was staring. The reason why is because somehow, she reminded him of his precious Valora. She just had that innocent and graceful vibe about her that somehow rekindled his old flame, but he kept his mouth shut, as she may remind him of her, he doubt that she acted like her.

"Hmmm…." Artemis hummed as Maj finished her story. She then turned her head to the group of guardians and started walking toward them, glaring over at Apollo, giving the message that she would deal with him later.

Once she stopped, Artemis cleared her throat, "Forgive me for not introducing myself before. I am Artemis, guardian of large game and overseer of the Pookas here. As Majabelle explained to me, I'm sure you know of my former status?" the guardians nodded in agreement, "Good, because that is partially what I'm known as here as well, still a huntress and also one who has a connection with the moon. However, the moon never told me that you would arrive here" she explained.

"Wait, you have a connection with the moon, as in the Man in the Moon?" asked Jack, a little intrigued by this.

"The what?" asked Artemis, before shaking her head, "No, no, not him. You see, our moon is almost like a connector between this world and yours. Think of it as like a vessel, or a tunnel with one end here and the other in your world. The moon tells me everything, such as what the future holds for us and many other things that involve the place where you are from" she explained, "but I was never told of your arrival. Did someone lead you here?"

"Yeah" said Bunnymund, "Your brother here was a wolf in our world and he nicked Jack's staff, making us follow him into the portal that leads to here" Apollo looked in fear but then in determination at Artemis.

"Yes, I broke the rules, but there is a reason. Athena told me that she saw a battle that took place in the guardian's world about three years ago here, but one and a half years ago there. They have information on the Ewari! They can help us!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, Ewari? As in…..Pitch Black?" asked Artemis.

"WHAT?!" shouted the guardians that put the former gods and goddesses a few feet away from being scared by the sudden outburst.

"Pitch is here?! But how?!" shouted Tooth.

"That can't be right, he was sentence to the darkness when we beat him!" shouted a shocked Bunnymund.

"Kak eto mozhet byt' ? (How can this be? In Russian)" North said as he scratched his head.

Sandy just started rambling sand-signs above his head.

Jack just darted his eyes side to side while looking to the ground with a confused look.

All the childhood guardians started shouting and rambling when….

"QUIET!"

The big five and the other guardians looked at the red headed archeress who shouted.

"Listen, I know that this is as much as a shock to you that Pitch is here as it is to us that you actually know and have battled him, but we can settle this with the other Nature guardians inside where we plan to go into a full out war to stop this mess. If Pitch is that big of a deal, which I have a good feeling he is, then I'm sure that you can help us win this and return the world back to normal" Artemis explained.

The big 5 looked at one another before deciding that it was practically the only option they had. The nodded in agreement and decided that they want to help.

"Apollo" Artemis said sternly, "You might have done something right for a change" she then smiled at her younger brother.

"Yeah, I agree. Any who, I got to get back with the others. Aster, I'll introduce you later, but for now, I got to get the rundown from the scouts. I'll see you all at dinner" said Maj as she made her way to the Castle.

"Yeah, I better go too. Besides, I got to get to the garden and harvest the apples for the cooks. They're expecting me before dinner. See ya! Athena, you coming?" asked Apollo as he took off.

"Wait for me!" shouted Athena running after the former sun god.

Artemis just groaned quietly when her bull nudged her arm. The young female turned to her partner and gave his snout a pet.

"You're just a supportive little guy aren't you?" Artemis chuckled.

Jack took notice and decided to come over to see the large game guardian's magnificent ride.

"He's amazing" Jack said out loud.

Artemis heard Jack and saw that he was looking at her bull.

"I take it you know a lot about animals like Brutus here?" she asked the winter spirit.

"Brutus?" Jack asked. He received his answer when the white bull turned his head and nudged the pale boy. "Whoa, hehe, easy boy, easy" Jack softly replied while gently petting the beast.

The feeling of elk fur under his fingers reminded him of his own female elk, Kisa. He remembered back to the time when he first bought his female pet, and also his last day with her.

Flashback

1685, Old village of Burgess

Jack was about nine years old and had lost his last baby tooth the night before. After the tooth fairy came, he counted up his money. In total he had up to about 3 pounds, since he started saving when he was about 6 and had worked a few small jobs to gain a few pences. His last tooth got him at least five pences just enough for him to gain an even amount and to buy himself what he had been dreaming of owning for himself. He placed all his money in a small pouch and started to run down the stairs and out of the house when his father caught him.

"Hey, whoa there fox-foot, where are you running off to?" asked Devon.

"Oh, I, uh, I was heading over to Mr. Larkin's barn" Jack said, nervously.

"Larkin's barn? What for?" Devon asked as he walked toward his son.

"I was hoping to buy an elk from him. I have been saving up my money, from the small side jobs and the tooth fairy, and have a total of three pounds Dad. That's more than enough to buy an Elk, but there is one type in particular that I want" explained Jack.

"An elk huh? Are you sure you can handle the responsibility Jack? You're not really known for doing any work" said Jack's father.

"During the times when Valora and I would play, she's been teaching me about the elk and everything with it. Like how to ride them, care for them, understand them and everything. I've ridden some of the elk and have a good understanding and I have been dreaming of having one for myself. Please dad, don't make me change my mind. I promise I'll take care of her" pleaded Jack.

"Her?" Devon asked, thinking that his son would want a Bull.

"Yeah dad, I want a cow, not a bull. I had a small accident when I was riding one of the elk and Valora suggested that I ride a cow instead, and a cow suited me perfectly. So I want a cow dad" Jack explained.

"I see. Well, as long as you are willing to take care of it, then I have no reason to stop you. But I think I better come along just in case. Just to see if the one you choose is right for you, ok?" asked Devon.

Jack thought about it for a minute and then nodded his head. So the two of them made their way to Larkin's farm, where the bulls were fighting for the females.

"Mr. Larkin!" shouted Jack. Larkin was busy milking one of the females when he heard Jack. He pulled the bucket out from the female he was working on and made his way to the pair of men.

"Greetings there Jack. What brings ya over? I'm afraid Valora's busy helping her mom today so she can't play" Larkin stopped talking when Jack shook his head.

"I'm here for a different reason today Mr. Larkin. I came to buy my own elk" Jack then showed him his money pouch, "See? I have been saving my money to buy and elk and I have three pounds total. That should be enough to buy a cow right?" Jack asked, excitement building up.

Larkin looked at Jack in shock, "You want a cow? Not a strong healthy bull?"

"Oh no, I want a strong, healthy cow sir. I had a small accident when Valora was teaching me to ride an elk where a bull's antler kind of threw me off my saddle" explained Jack.

"Hmmm…Well….I don't see why not. We sell the cows for cheaper prices though. Will that be alright with you?" Larkin asked.

Jack just nodded his head and the three men looked to find a good cow for the young boy. Before they looked at the elk, Jack bought all the supplies he needed in caring and riding an elk for two of his three pounds. For his last pound, Jack bought a friendly cow that won his heart when she licked his hands and nuzzled his face.

"So Jack, what are you going to call her?" asked his father.

"Hmm….I think….I'll name her… Kisa" said Jack.

"Kisa? Sounds like a good name. Well Jack, she's all yours" said Larkin as he handed the reins to Jack, who wore a big smile as he looked at the reins.

1693, Autumn in Burgess

Jack was looking at the reins Larkin gave him when he first bought Kisa. This time, he was holding them in remembrance for all the good times he had with his precious friend. Unfortunately, six months after he lost Valora, he was losing his prized elk to an unknown disease that was causing her to lose weight and barely eat. He worked hard to try and revive his old friend, but it wasn't enough. Larkin was in the Hanson barn working on Kisa when he came out to tell Jack the news the 17 year old dreaded to hear.

"I'm sorry Jack, but I'm afraid there is nothing more that I can do. I'm afraid it may be best to put her out of her misery instead of letting her die like this" Larkin explained with a hand on Jacks shoulder.

Jack only nodded as he made his way inside to do what was needed to be done. The poor female was breathing shallowly as he made his way to her, sat beside her head and pulled it into his lap. He spoke a few final words, not wanting this to happen, but the female just looked at him in the eye, and Jack knew that she was saying the same thing Larkin said. And so, he finished it with a knife to her heart, he finished her life, crying his heart out as he did. With Jovan, Kisa's mate, at his side, rider and ride made their way to the small pond that Jack and Valora had their first kiss at and buried her under one of the willow trees. He would never return to that pond again, for it only brought him pain and sorrow.

End Flashback

Jack gave a sad sigh as he remembered his precious girls, when he was snapped out of his trance by Artemis.

"Are you ok? You looked like you were lost in thought there" asked Artemis.

"I'm fine. Just, old memories popping up" Jack explained.

"Oh, well I'm sorry" Artemis sighed, "If only I was to have memories of my past"

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"Well, you see. For us nature guardians, remembering the past is pretty much a curse" said Artemis.

**And Cliffhanger!**

***These are translations from the Greek language**

**1. Whoa ! Éf****̱****koli****̱**** ag****ó****ri , ****é****f****̱****koli****̱**** (Effkolee agoree, Effkolee) (Easy boy, easy)**

**2. Ti symvaínei edó****̱**** ? (tea semyaveo?) (what's going on here?) **

**So this is Chapter 2 and may be what I have for a while. But I will try to get more up if I can so I thank you all for being so patient with me and I hope you can bear with me a little more. **


End file.
